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Author
Topic: i have a question about hiv and herpes? (Read 2627 times)

Can someone please explain something to me...I feel stupid asking but I keep reading about HIV & herpes..I know herpes is a std but do people with HIV just get heroes because their immune system is low? Or do they have to be exposed to it?

hi there,Anybody can get herpes whether you are positive or negative. People with HIV don't automatically get herpes, you have to get it from someone just like any other STD. It is a virus and cannot be cured but you can take medication to suppress it.

Most adults have some form of exposure to herpes where it be from chickenpox , HPV , cold sores , genital herpes and shingles are all manifestations of herpes virus .

A low immune system can trigger an outbreak as well as stress and other factors , some people never have a problem with outbreaks . In order to have an outbreak there must be an exposure at some point in your life , most people have had that exposure . Its not simply a virus that's an std , it can be but remember that children get chickenpox and it doesn't come from sex .

I am actually curious about herpes. I was thinking about this the other day, but it seems to have vanished! I had two initial outbreaks five years ago and they never came back. I read studies where people with HIV have more frequent and severe outbreaks but for me they have never come back. I am currently on Isentress and Truvada and there is some studies out there that suggest Isentress is also active against Herpes but no trials have been conducted in humans to my knowledge unless I missed something. Apparently integrase and the herpes enzyme terminase share similar structures? I don't know.

Sorry should've been more specific I was just referring to genital herpes

You have to be exposed to the herpes simplex virus - either HSV1 or HSV2 - to get genital herpes. You can get genital herpes from having oral sex performed on you by someone with what's commonly known as a "cold sore" on their lip.

In general, HSV1 mainly affects the lips, and HSV2 mainly affects the genitals, but they are completely interchangeable.

I have genital herpes that pre-dated my hiv by about seventeen years. Before hiv I used to get one or two outbreaks a year. By the time I had (untreated) hiv for about eight years, I started getting up to three or four outbreaks a month. Fun times. It sucked! That's when I finally went on acyclovir prophylaxis.

At my last hiv appointment, the doctor asked me if I was still taking acyclovir prophylaxis. I've been on hiv meds for just over a year now, with an UD VL for about 9/10 months. I told her I was considering going off the acyclovir when I'd been UD for a whole year, and she suggested I could do it now rather than wait.

I'm still currently taking it, mainly because I'd already filled out my pill trays for the month and they won't need refilling until the middle of next week.

When I told the doctor I was wary about stopping the acyclovir, she said as long as I have some on hand and have access to a repeat prescription (I do on both counts), that I could always just go back on it if I started having outbreaks again. I think I'll go for it.

I am actually curious about herpes. I was thinking about this the other day, but it seems to have vanished! I had two initial outbreaks five years ago and they never came back. I read studies where people with HIV have more frequent and severe outbreaks but for me they have never come back. I am currently on Isentress and Truvada and there is some studies out there that suggest Isentress is also active against Herpes but no trials have been conducted in humans to my knowledge unless I missed something. Apparently integrase and the herpes enzyme terminase share similar structures? I don't know.

Any thoughts on this or more info?

It's more about having your hiv under control (UD VL) than it is about what hiv meds you're on. Seeing as how you're a person who has thus far been able to control your herpes without antiviral meds (acyclovir), then there's no reason to think you'll have a problem now that your hiv is UD.

Look at it this way - when your body doesn't have to work so hard to keep hiv under control (because of the meds), it can put more energy into keeping herpes in check.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Most adults have some form of exposure to herpes where it be from chickenpox , HPV , cold sores , genital herpes and shingles are all manifestations of herpes virus .

I only just noticed this.... HPV is NOT in the herpes family of viruses. It's in the human papilloma family of viruses - which cause warts and cancers (simplistic but to the point). There are quite a few different types of HPV; not all will cause warts and not all will cause cancer.

Cold sores and genital herpes are in the herpes simplex branch of the herpes family, and chicken pox and shingles are in the herpes zoster branch. You have to have had chicken pox at some point in your life before you might get shingles.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

I only just noticed this.... HPV is NOT in the herpes family of viruses. It's in the human papilloma family of viruses - which cause warts and cancers (simplistic but to the point). There are quite a few different types of HPV; not all will cause warts and not all will cause cancer.

Cold sores and genital herpes are in the herpes simplex branch of the herpes family, and chicken pox and shingles are in the herpes zoster branch. You have to have had chicken pox at some point in your life before you might get shingles.